Watching You
by ButterflysHurricane
Summary: With Duo working at with the Preventers along with his partner, Heero, life can never be simple for a Senior Agent, especially with someone watching your every move.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any other affiliations to do with the franchise.

Author's Notes: This is a rewrite of the story previously known as "Going Nowhere" I changed the ending, but in doing so, I have had to rewrite most of the beginning. The story will be a lot darker now, as chapter's progress.

Overall Warning: T for now, but may change to M for the later chapters, you will be given warning when something unsavoury pops up. Contains Yaoi, 1x2x1, 3x4x3 5xSx5, violence, stalking and angst.

Watching You

Chapter 1: A glamorous life

By butterflyshurricane

It was the beginning of September and the weather had already turned cooler. The summer had been one of the coolest in decades, giving way to what would be a cold winter. Leaves were yet to start turning brown and red, and the frost had not set in, but the air was nippy in the early morning sun. The traffic that travelled along the road was already congested and heavy, making people late and grumpy, blaring horns and some were even shouting out of the window. None of this bothered Duo Maxwell as he walked a steady pace down the street toward Preventer HQ.

He could see the compound coming up, just before the industrial sector rose above the commercial buildings. He scanned his security badge and walked straight through the employee gates, nodding at the security guards. He continued walking along the path, leading towards the main office block in the centre of the compound. His walk took him past the open training grounds, the two of the five, three storey archive building which housed all the files below ground and employee parking spaces before reaching the building. It was seventeen storeys high and acted as main headquarters which all other branches, both on and off world reported to.

Duo casually strolled into the entrance, swiping his security guard and winking at the guard on duty before getting on the elevator. He rode to the fifteenth floor , with various people getting on and off of the lift before he reached his destination. Stepping out, he continued, whistling to himself a half forgotten nursery rhyme down quite a few corridors before he reached his shared office. The door was open, and only ever closed when the occupants were discussing things of a private matter, or out. He came to a stop at the door frame and leant against it, hands jammed in his pocket, watching his partner, hunched over his computer, already busy at work. The strong jaw was set firm, deep deadly blue eyes narrowed in concentration. His skin was bronzed, from the few field assignments they had been on recently. He looked stern, sharp features with a hint of the orient in them. His body, even under the cloths, spoke of powers and muscle, hard and taut beneath soft skin. His upper body was that of a god, with thin waist leading down to strong legs and the best calves this side of the Earthsphere. He would have looked like the business, if he had not had his tongue stuck out between his teeth. Duo smiled at that. All he needed was floppy dog-ears sticking out of the rough, thick brown hair and he'd be adorable. Duo took this minute to openly stare at his partner, almost drooling as he took in the perfect specimen for masculinity. He shifted slightly, causing the other man to look up from his computer with an open expression, he looked at Duo for a long moment, before turning back to his computer.

"Why are you standing around for? Looking pretty?" Heero asked in a clipped tone. Duo smiled and heaved himself off of the door frame, going to sit at his own desk, opposite Heero's. The office was fairly large, blue carpeted and white walls, a window that spanned the wall opposite the door. There were two filing cabinets, one black leather sofa, a potted plant and a picture of something neither of them had been able to tell, but always had fun describing what it could be, from a comment on societies depiction of grass to an explanation of how someone could become rich by painting what their sick had been like. Other than these, there was little else in the room, except the desks with all that was needed for their computers.

"That's why Treize had Zechs hang around." Duo commented, getting a smirk from the other man. Neither said anything for a moment, Heero wrapped up on what was his computer.

"How's the solitaire game?" Duo piped up. Heero glanced up, then back.

"Twelve in a row." Duo whistled in amazement.

"And they say the senior agents never do any work. Cant blame you though, this week has gone a bit slow. I know I said I wanted a rest, but this is ridiculous. Did any new assignments come in last night?" Duo asked, as his computer was booted up.

"Nothing that requires senior agents." Heero replied. Trust him to know what's going on, Duo mused, staring out of the window to his right.

"That means we'll be back on our specialist areas soon." Duo huffed, trying to sound dejected, but could not help smiling. He could see the garage hangers from his office. Heero looked over to see the almost dreamy look the blue eyed man was giving the garages. He shook his head and continued.

"It will be today. Une will call shortly. She has a meeting at nine, so we'll get the call at eight twenty." Heero informed him. Duo looked over from his longing gaze.

"How do you know?" He asked, cocking his head to one side.

"She always has a meeting at nine. Wufei and Sally were put on their specialist assignments last night." Heero reeled off, this time keeping his eyes on the screen.

"Really?"

"Ah. Wufei has security detail at the politician banquet the news has been covering." Heero informed his friend.

"Really? Man, He'll be thrilled at that. We all know how he loves heading them." Duo rolled his eyes, determined to tease Wufei about it later. He was about to speak again, when the phone rang. Heero answered it with a curt "Yuy" before sounding and affirmative then putting the phone down and standing.

"That was-,"

"Une?" Duo finished, standing and following Heero out of the room. They walked in amiable silence, playing their little game of scaring as many none-agents staff if they passed them. They used to do it with everyone, but there had been a few too many stand offs with the other agents, before they moved onto secretaries and maintenance engineers. Heero took to his glare, while Duo grinned manically, occasionally winking at the cute ones.

Unes office was two floors up. It was spacious, with the biggest windows, made of the toughest glass manufactured on the colonies. Her desk was large and imposing, but still looked cluttered, despite the space amid all the papers and files. She was seated in her chair, looking at some papers when Heero and Duo walked in. They stood at the end of the desk until she acknowledged them. She had a habit of doing this, Duo thought it was so that she looked like she was doing work between all the meeting she had chaired during the day. He could not blame her, she needed to keep up appearances to the other agents, setting an example, but to keep them waiting, was a different story. After half a minute, she looked up and motioned for them to sit. Both took a seat, Duo relaxing, while Heero sat, perfect posture.

"Morning Gentlemen. How are you today?" She began, with a sincere voice. Even though she was their boss, and meant business, she was still easy to talk openly to.

"Bored." That was Heero.

"I've caught up with all my paperwork." Duo said, smiling. Une laughed a very quite, feminine laugh. "How are you ma'am?" He asked as an afterthought. If there was one thing he had remembered growing up, it was his manners. She smiled serenely, causing Duo to wonder is she was naturally calm nowadays, or if she was pumped full of sedatives. That was something he had to tell Heero later.

"I am fine. I have a meeting with Foreign Minister Darlin later, shall I send her your regards?" She asked looking from one to the other.

"Oh, yes. Would you really?" Duo mocked in a posh accent, gaining a smirk from Heero.

"Well, would I be right in thinking that you know why you are here?" Une asked, turning to business.

"You need to keep your best and brightest busy, right? Just tell us the word and I'll be in that garage like a shot." Duo answered. It was always like this with them. Heero was only ever talkative to close friends and when he needed information, the rest of the time, he only spoke when necessary, fostering the image of being a man of few words. It was effective at stopping people talking to him, they usually talk to him via Duo, knowing Duo would carry a conversation easily.

"Very well, you are to be put on standby. Mr Yuy, you're in Computer Defence. There have been a few separate databases hacked recently, that have been tied to the same source, you are to help investigate. Mr. Maxwell, you're to work in hanger two." At the mention of hanger two, a smile bigger than anything else spread across his face.

"What has been hacked?" Heero asked.

"A number of civilian facilities, as well as old Alliance databases on the L2 cluster, as well as old Oz and Alliance archives on Earth. It is up to you to see if these are connected in any way and who can be behind these attacks."

"Is there anything else?" Duo asked, wanting to get to work right away. Use smiled at the enthusiasm.

"No. You may leave." Both got up, saluting and walked out. Duo waited until he was in the corridor before letting out a cry of 'Yes'. Heero could not bring himself to smile, he had wanted to be assigned to the new database system, not a stupid chase around old servers. He sighed, a sound that went unheard by Duo, who was practically flying.

"What's in hanger two?" Heero asked as they waited for the lift. Duo turned around, with an incredulous look on his face.

"Hanger two is where the new vehicle prototypes are built. I've heard that they're working on an all terrain vehicle that can drive through four feet of water and not totally die. I had a sneak at the schematics, it's amazing what they're gonna put in it. Sat Nav from anywhere in the world to within five metres, armour that the buster rifle couldn't smash though and enough horse power to move a Leo! Man, in two years we'll be using it for real. They're still building the basic components, but it's already a beast!" Duo reeled off in one breath. They stepped into the lift as soon as it had arrived, Duo still talking.

"They're gonna paint it either black, or desert camouflage for the test run. Man, I hope they don't paint her pink, or Relena may want one." He laughed.

"Relena isn't a child anymore, she's matured and become quite discerning." Heero said, in a flat tone. Duo turned to look at the man, noting that he seemed to be in the worst mood he'd been in in ages.

"C'mon, I was only joking. What's gotten into you?"

"Bartle."

"Bartle?" Duo mimicked and then it clicked. "He's in C.D. Man, I'm sorry. Hand me your gun. As much as I want you to, I can't let you shoot him, it'll make a mess on the carpets and Une'll take that out of our bonus." That managed to get a turn up of the corner of his mouth.

"I'll just have to remember to shoot him on laminate then." He muttered deadpan, getting a snicker from the other. The doors to the lift opened and they continued to their office.

"Yuy, Maxwell!" A voice called from behind. They turned to see Wufei behind them, dressed in a pristine uniform. Anytime Duo saw Wufei, his uniform looked like it had been freshly put on. Maybe he had five ready uniforms in his office, Duo thought, or that he really was domesticated. He could just imagine the Chinese man lamenting about there not being enough starch in the collars, or in a pink apron, ironing his shirts to within an inch of their lives. The pink apron made Duo laugh.

"Isn't it early to be taking happy pills? Have you guy's seen Une yet?" He asked as he joined them walking to their office.

"Yup. Heero's got C.D and I have the Fire Cat!" Duo told him eagerly.

"The prototype? That's not surprising. They're having problems with the engine, or so I've heard." Wufei told him, causing Duo to grin in anticipation.

"I hear you are on security at the conference on Friday." Heero asked, before Duo could say anymore on the engine.

"Yes." Was all Wufei said as his jaw clenched and his expression darkened.

"Man, who did you piss off?" Duo said as he whistled. Wufei chose to bite back any comment he had.

"What did you get Yuy?"

"I'm to investigate some low level hacking jobs in Computer Defence." Heero replied with efficiency.

"Isn't that were-,"

"Yup." Duo cut Wufei off before he even said the name. All three went silent as Duo stopped at the coffee machine.

"I hate that guy. I'm so glad it's not me. No offence." Duo said to Heero as he fished around for money. Heero merely shrugged. Duo inserted the money, but it fell straight through. The damn machines on the upper flaws never worked properly, and the percolator in the staff room was a no go.

"I think the feeling is mutual." Wufei said, smirking and looking up and down the corridor, looking like the two oriental men were keeping lookout.

"Sometimes I wanna punch him in the face. He doesn't have to say anything, and I wanna hit him!" Duo replied as the machine swallowed his money. "Goddamn it, I'm going in." He said as he produced a lock pick from somewhere.

"Do you always carry that around?" Heero asked, looking as Duo deftly unlocked the front of the machine.

"Of course." Duo replied as if it was an obviously stupid question. "I may not have been let in the scouts, but I'm always prepared." He started hotwiring the coffee machine.

"I know Bartle is a pain, but to actually want to punch him in the face for no reason…" Wufei mused, wanting to know if there was a reason, or if Duo would actually punch him as they passed in a corridor.

"I have reasons!" Duo answered as the machine sprang to life and started pouring a cup of coffee.

"He's still smarting about the other week in the staff room." Heero informed Wufei, who looked between them and smiled.

"You're still pissed at that? I thought you would have been over that by now." Wufei said, incredulity across his pointed features.

"He called me a rice queen. How am I a rice queen? Anyway, I don't know why you two are so ok with it, you're my Asian bitches." Duo muttered as he began stalking down the hall. They came to a corridor were they would part ways with Wufei.

"I'll see you later, I have to go talk with Sally." He said a small smile dancing across his lips before he turned away. They watched him go before they continued onwards.

"Looks like I've lost one of my bitches to another queen." Duo said. That made Heero laugh out loud.

----------------

It was early evening when Duo had finally decided to call it a day. He had arrived at the garages at nine-thirty and from there he did not notice the time go past. All day they had been running tests on the engine, trying to get as much power out of the machine as was physically possible. They had succeeded in pushing it to the edge of its capability, but had cracked one of the turbines in the process. It had take four hours to replace it, running into seven o'clock before he had finished. Everyone else apart from two others who were working on the outer shell had gone, and he had refused to go until the work was done, seeing as it had been him pushing the tests.

In the locker room he was bent over one of the large sinks washing the dirty and oil off his arms. He knew there was no point trying to get his hands pristine, they'd just get dirty again the next day, and with him working on his bike back home at the same time. His hands always looked like a proper mechanics hand, grime that would not be washed away from between the grooves of the joints and under the nails. He loved working with machines, taking them apart, building them back up. Before he joined the Preventers two years ago, he had already build a car in his spare time and managed to sell it for a lot more than what all the parts had cost. He did not want to sell it, it had been his baby and labour of love but he had no choice when he moved to Earth at Twenty.

He felt the hot water run over his hands as he used the first bottle of detergent his hand came to. As he was rinsing off, he heard a sound like a spanner being dropped on the concrete floor. He turned around, straining to listen closely, but could not hear anything. He turned back to washing his hands. Then he was at his locker, changing back into his uniform, that he tried to wear casually but there was only so much you could change the uniform before it was deemed unacceptable. He never wore a white shirt and tie, option for either t-shirt in summer or black turtle neck in winter, and always the same horrid slacks. He had requested leather, but then said that no one would be able to do there work if his arse was covered in leather. Heero had looked at him like he had grown another head when he told him that.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as a shiver ran down his spine. He turned around again as he look around for anyone. There had been no noise this time, but a strange feeling, like he was being watched, stared at intensely, was niggling the back of his mind, and those feelings had served him well during the war. He walked down the rows of lockers, not wanting to call out in case he sounded like an idiot. He took a quick look around, in each of the shower cubicles and even back into the hanger, to make sure no one had gone back into the garage to work. Nothing. He turned and went back to getting dressed. He had been walking around in only his uniform pants.

He pulled his jumper on and pulled up the sleeves to his elbows as he went to retie his boots. He shot his head back up again as the feeling came back. He turned around on the spot and strained to hear anything. He looked up to the ceiling, making sure there was no one up there, unlike the Oz officers in the war. Those guys never remembered to look up when searching for people, Duo remembered as all he could see was a security camera and an air vent that was screwed tight. He continued to look at the vent, waiting for any signs of movement, not noticing someone else's actual presence behind him.

"Duo." Duo quickly turned around, yelping and getting into a defensive position, reaching for a gun that was still in his locker.

"Heero?" Duo asked, straightening up.

"What are you looking at?" He asked coming to stand next to Duo and looking at the vent.

"I thought I heard something earlier, was that you?" Duo asked as Heero looked back down to the man standing next to him.

"No, I have just finished myself and saw that you hadn't signed out." Heero answered, going over to Duo's locker and handing him his holster.

"Then I guess it wasn't you watching me then." Duo laughed mirthlessly as he fastened the leather straps around him. Heero looked at him, simply and straight in the eyes, unease in his face.

"What do you mean?" Duo felt awkward telling Heero about the feeling of being watched, like he was making something out of nothing, but Heero understood. After all, he had been a Gundam pilot as well, he knew the paranoia of thinking people were watching and waiting, ready to spring a trap, that's how they had lived a year of their lives.

"I'll go check to see if there is anyone around." Heero said, turning to carry out his mission.

"I've already checked, there's no one there. I must be getting paranoid in my old age." Duo joked, slamming the locker door shut and starting toward the door. Heero took another look around, his eyes resting on the security camera. Duo noticed this and stopped. The way Heero was stood, as still as a statue, guarding any hint of expression on his face, made him look taller, more powerful. His stance was not taut, but looked like he could spring into action at any time.

"Anything wrong buddy?" Duo asked, looking over to Heero. The other simply turned, an indecipherable look on his face.

"Nothing at all."

End of Part One

A.N: This was to set up how everybody is settling into the new future. The majority of the pilots are 22, in case you were wondering. May be a month to the next update.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Notes: Ok, I've changed the point of view from third person to Duo first person. I think this will help the story a lot, but I may not change the first chapter, seeing as I have a lot to write. I had written this chapter in third and the time it took to change it, it's not worth doing the first chapter again, nothing would be added.

Dedication: To Naomi Clark, my grammar nazi and the reason this story is readable.

Warnings: aggressive swearing

Watching You

Chapter 2: Wider Field of Interest

By butterflyshurricane

Deciding that there is such a concept as too much of a good thing, I determined that when working on schematics or other non-mechanical duties, I would use my office. This was so that I could be kept up to date on office gossip, and what missions were going on. I'm tired of having to rely on Heero for any sort of news; he's pretty useless when it comes to sniffing out gossip.

Plus, I have to admit; I miss my partner when we aren't assigned together. That's a bit of understatement. I miss him a lot. He's my friend, my buddy, my partner. The one who watched my back all those years. He's the one I talk to openly, the one who I trust the most. The fact that Heero is the best eye candy in the whole building does help as well. But that is not the only reason I am attracted to the man. There is his personality.

Who would have thought that buried under all the crap he had been trained into him, Heero Yuy had a personality? His sense of humour has always been there, but he was so driven back then, he could not allow himself to think of much else. Neither had I. We'd had a war to fight, but that hadn't stopped me from trying to make friendships along the way.

No, there is something about Heero that I have always been drawn to. Somewhere, below those crystal blue depths, lies something that I so desperately want to see. I'd had a glimpse of it one night a little over seven months ago, but fate and gravity had conspired to keep me in the dark. I ran my hand through the mess on my head I now consider my hairstyle.

Heero isn't not the only one who's changed. A few weeks after the end of the second war, I had decided to unceremoniously cut my braid off. It was a tie to a past that I did not want to forget, but I was now living in a world where revenge did not rule my life. My hair had been there from when I was with Solo, to the Maxwell church and throughout my short life. The past and the families I had made and lost would stay with me forever, but it was time to move on.

I had been living with Hilde at the time, and she almost had kittens when I walked into the living room, braid in one hand and scissors in the other. The hair was longer at the front than at the back as I had cut it off in one go. By the time Quatre had called a few days later, I had visited a hairdresser for the first time ever and had it cut into a style that, I was told, would look great when it grew a bit more. Quatre, though shocked, was quite supportive and even went as far to tell me that I looked better with my hair short.

The most shocked was Heero, who randomly turned up on my doorstep a month afterwards. I had to repress a smirk as he turned me around and around, demanding to know who had done this 'vile act' and if I wanted them dead, I just had to say and they would be gone, with no traces. Half an hour after the initial shock, we finally had Heero calmed down and the two of us had talked, more than we had done in the whole war. We talked so long that the night cycle finished and it was only when an angry Hilde broke the door down did I realise what time it was.

"Happy memories." I mutter as I stare at Heero's desk.

"That's the first sign, you know." The voice of Sally Po stirs me from my daydreaming. She sat down on the black leather sofa that I had used as a bed on more than a few occasions.

"Well doc, what do you suggest for a certifiable loon?" I ask, grinning at my guest. She was wearing her uniform, minus the jacket today. I had gone for uniform option 3 - dark brown or black turtleneck long-sleeved jumper - for the third time this week. It's a good shirt, warm and durable, and that's why I like it. Not because of who had given it to me. My physique remained slim yet masculine, with good broad shoulders and thin waist, giving me an almost straight line down my body.

"You're not crazy enough to be locked away… yet," she tells me, looking around the office. "Where's your bitter half?"

"He's still working on those hack jobs. The poor guy's really been on edge lately. He's down to monosyllabic answers and 'shut up Maxwell' if I try to crack a joke. It's just not like him," I say.

Sally laughs at that statement. "Some would disagree with that."

I shrug at her. "Can't blame him, if I was cooped up with Bartle all day I'd be pretty pissed off all the time," I explain.

"Even the people who like Bartle hate Bartle." Sally chimes in, one of the members of the Bartle hate club. Most of the office was in our little club and if we had the time, we would have even made little buttons for official membership.

"I hate the people who love me and they hate me," came Wufei's voice from the door as he walked in with a tray of coffee cups.

"Afternoon, is that a latte for little old me?" I greet him, taking a proffered cup. He gives one to Sally, smiles warmly at her, and then deposits one on Heero's desk.

"Where's Yuy? I want to ask him something about his case?"

I shrug. Wufei took his seat next to Sally. They had gotten together at Quatre and Trowa's engagement party, and had fallen into an easy relationship. The closeness and small smiles they exchanged were a sign that they were still very much in the first stages of love. I could not help the small twinge of jealousy deep in my gut. It did not matter though, I was really happy for them.

"Aw, aren't you two adorable? I wish I had someone to play cosy with." I tease, leaning on the desk with my hand under my chin.

"I would, but Sally may get jealous," Wufei says pleasantly, earning a scowl and a smile. Wufei has also left the scars of his past behind him. He's even returned to the books and we all know that when the time was right, he would become a scholar again.

"You've got your own bitch, rice queen," Sally replies, chuckling slightly.

"I don't have a preference to Eastern guys!" I shout, knowing anyone on the corridor could hear me. And you know what? I like the idea that I am considered a little kooky; even if it did start rumours I would rather not have flying around.

"Well, you have a preference for a particular Asian guy, right?" Sally insinuates.

How does everybody know about this? I don't even really know if there is anything to 'this' at all.

"Oh no, I'm not talking about this." I say, swivelling around in my chair to face the back wall. I can imagine the look the other two are giving each other. They, Quatre, Hilde and even Relena have all had a chat with me about the subject I was unwilling to discuss, and I am sick of repeating myself about my feelings and hearing their clichéd solutions. I am quite frankly sick of everything and just want to handle the situation my own way.

"Duo, you can't-," Sally begins, but is cut off.

"Yes I can, see? I'm ignoring it now. What is it? I don't know, I'm ignoring it!" I say to myself, still facing the wall.

"We'll talk about in another day, okay?"

"Fine. We'll talk about it the day after the world ends." I say, swivelling back around to face them in my chair. The others just roll their eyes at my childish nature, but I can see them deciding to let the subject be dropped.

Just as one of them is about to say something, Heero storms into the office, slamming the door behind him, startling all in the room, and causing me to stand up. He walks over to the window, and paces backwards and forwards, before reaching the wall behind his desk and thumping it, causing a fist-sized dent in the drywall. All of us just stare at him. His breathing is ragged, his face hidden from me as he stares at the wall.

"Heero."

"What!" The other man shouts, turning on me. There is a fire in those eyes that I have not seen for years. Back then it was a contained rage, one that he bottled up, along with all other things.

I think about all the things I could say. 'How are you?' maybe. 'Calm down' was out of the question. "What happened?" I ask, looking straight into the deep blue eyes that had transfixed me all those years ago.

He seems to calm a bit, his breathing settling into a steadier rhythm, his hands unclenching from an instinctive ball. "It's that… wanker!" he seethes through his teeth.

I sigh when I realise who he is talking about, but still, I don't approach him. Not yet.

"What did he do?" Wufei asks, also getting up.

Heero honestly looks startled at the other two's presence. After that brief second with his guard down, he calms his physical stress down, but his eyes still have a fire in them. "He doesn't know when to stop insulting people. He was looking for a fight," he tells us in a dispassionate, clinical voice.

"Did you give him that fight?" I ask, eyeing my partner with a weary glance. Heero, looks down for a second in a bashful and ashamed display, before returning his gaze, the submissive posture gone and a ready stance set, showing that he was perfectly justified in what he was about to say.

"How could I not, when he insulted…" He falters, looking towards the window and breathing deeply. "He said some things about you," he finishes.

I sigh. I should have guessed this was down to me. Heero tends to be overprotective of the people he cares about, but most of the time he knows when to back away and let it go. It is one of the sweeter aspects of Heero that only a select few have chance to see, and one that endears him to me.

"You need to remember that he's a prick and should ignore him and his insults," I say in a gentle voice, not caring that the others are there at all. Heero turns to face me. He has obviously forgotten they are there as well.

"I don't care when it's about me, but when he says those things about you, it really gets me wound up. It makes me wish that I had got more than one punch in."

"You hit him?" I cry in disbelief, eyes widening. I expected there to be a verbal barrage, but to actually attack another officer? Not to mention a senior agent. This situation is not going to blow over before any time soon.

"He called you a-," Heero cuts himself off. I know at that moment what I had been called, but the hurt is chased away by concern for Heero.

"This is serious. You could get a written warning. We only get one before we are thrown out." Wufei breaks the silence he has kept while we talked.

Heero's shoulders slump, showing that the aggression and adrenalin is running out of his system. He pulls his chair out and flops into it, closing his eyes.

"Surely he was justified? Maybe if Une knows the situation, she'll forgo the caution and keep it off record. If anyone needs kicking off the force, it's a homophobic prick like Bartle." I say, taking a seat on Heero's desk. "Did you get any work done today?"

Heero looks up at me. In his eyes, I can see silent gratitude for the subject change.

"A bit. A few more places have reported hackings. Prisoner surveillance tapes on L3, Lunar base archives as well, from the war. Mostly CCTV footage," he says, glancing at me. For a second he looks hesitant, but continues on. "And adoption records from L2."

I sit up a little straighter, looking with undisguised shock. The other two also wear startled looks.

"Adoption records? How far back are they dated?" Wufei asks, just one of the hundreds of questions whirling through my brain. A dark feeling settles on my stomach.

"They go back to 162," Heero replies, looking at Wufei, and purposely avoiding my eyes.

"Well, even if they had them, surly you would not be on them, you were never adopted, right? They would need the orphanage records," Sally says as gently as she can.

I look at them all before finally getting my voice back. "Well, I was in the system. While at the orphanage, they had placed me in a few homes, but I was too wild for them to handle," I tell them in a flat voice. "I was sent back on more than one occasion." I try to sound emotionless, hiding the torrent of feelings inside.

"Well, it may be the case that there are multiple hackers out there. Someone has seen that one person is hacking, so they want to mess with us and throw us off, it's happened before." Wufei throws his opinion in, settling back on the settee and picking up his untouched coffee.

Heero shakes his head at the statement. "They all have the same message pop up in place of what was stolen, like a calling card. This guy is toying with us," he murmurs.

Before anyone can say another word, Heero's phone starts ringing. He sits up in his chair and answers it with a slight hesitation. He speaks his name, is silent for a few seconds, then puts the phone down and stands up.

"Une?" I ask, looking up at my partner. The other man simply nods and leaves the room without a word. Silence reigns for a number of minutes. I sit in Heero's chair, looking intently into empty space, barely acknowledging Sally and Wufei's departure.

I sigh and lean back in the chair. I cannot believe Heero had flown off the handle and actually hit another officer. Then my mood changes and I become angry with Bartle for making Heero hit him.

That thought makes me laugh at how childish it all is. Heero is a fully-grown man, in complete control of all his faculties; a man who's every action is meticulously planned. He is not an angry man. He rarely loses his temper. _Hell, he had even lightened up a bit_, I think.

A voice in the back of my mind calls out: _If his actions are always premeditated, then explain the kiss._

The party had been to celebrate Quatre and Trowa getting engaged. They had finally decided to apply for a marriage license and make it official. It was the best excuse I had heard for getting absolutely plastered and causing hell in someone else's home in a long time. The party had supposed to be small, family and friends, but with Quatre's horde of sisters and Trowa's circus friends being his family, the whole event had become, well, a circus.

_Throughout the night, I caused havoc, played drinking games and plotted plans to get Sally and Wufei together. Soon after that, my partner in crime and I, Heero, had retreated to the roof in fear of bodily harm from the two soon-to-be-lovers. _

_While gazing at the stars, we swilled a further bottle of Champaign and huddled close together for warmth._

"It's a good thing they're getting together. I mean, at Christmas, we can buy one present and address it to both of them!" I declared.

"_Doesn't that only work when they live together?" Heero asked, passing the bottle to me._

_I took a swig. "They live in the fridge now that we locked them in there!" I shouted gleefully. As I laughed, I dropped the bottle and it rolled down the shingles and off the side. A distant smash could be heard, but no other noise._

"No casualties!" I declared, turning to Heero.

"_For a master of stealth, you really are clumsy," Heero told me. His eyes were drooping and bloodshot, and he'd had a constant smirk on his lips for the past three hours._

"_Aw, but you love me anyway." I laughed, sitting on a less sloped part of the large expanse of roof owned by the Winner estate. _

"I do." Heero replied, sitting next to me.

_This sobered me immediately. I looked into the bloodshot eyes, full of mixed emotions and liquor. If we had not been drunk, we would have talked it over. But we were slaughtered and gave that up for making out. _

_Our lips came together in a deep, sloppy and ill-tasting kiss. Stale alcohol and whatever we had eaten mixed with each other, but I did not care, it was still the best feeling I had felt. I leaned back, pulling the part-Japanese man down as well. In one fluid motion Heero rolled on top of me… but he had misjudged and continued rolling, clean over me and partway down the roof._

"Heero!" I cried as he flung his hand out. Flailing for a moment, we managed to grab onto each other and froze, both breathing heavily. We looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

"_Heero? Duo?" Quatre's voice rang out. "They're not angry now, you can come down."_

_Five minutes later saw us return to the party. We spent the rest of the night avoiding each other's eyes and once on the ground floor, we made thin excuses of fatigue and both ran to our own bedrooms, locking the door and sobering up._

"Duo." A deep voice calls me back to reality. I find myself staring at the same face I have just been thinking about. I shake my head and throw off the fantasy of what could have happened back on the roof had we not been disturbed. I try to recall what is happening in the present. Heero, Bartle, bodily harm.

"How'd the meeting go?" I ask, standing up to get a better look at Heero. His reactions, as always, are unreadable. It always pisses me off that even after all these years; I still can't tell what he's feeling. His eyes give nothing away.

"I have to clear out my desk," he says solemnly.

"Really?" All brain function stopped in the shock of his words. He's been fired. He's… laughing? Has he lost his mind in all this?

"No," he snorts, "rapped knuckles and I still have to work with him," he manages between guffaws. That pisses me off.

"You bastard. You had me scared!" I yell, throwing the first thing that came to hand, which happens to be a thick, hardback book on the intricacies of databases that Heero constantly reads and re-reads all day. It hits the arm Heero has raised in defence and falls flat to the floor.

"You threw the book," he says seriously. "You threw a book, Duo."

"It's not like it's the Bible." I say, crossing my arms. Although, to Heero, it might as well be. He picks it up and straightens it out in an exaggerated way, glancing at me like I had just pissed on his kids. I roll my eyes, step around the desk and walk past him.

"C'mon, it's just a book," I say as I turn my computer off and gather my things. He is almost holding the damn thing like a child. With the same reverence a holy scripture would receive. I guess it is his Bible in some ways.

"It is a sin to damage a book. There are laws," he tells me, placing the book on the table so that its edges line up with the edge of the desk. Definitely an OCD case.

"There are no such laws," I tell him, watching as he just stands there.

"In this office there are," he states with crossed arms. Considering he is supposed to be the mature one, he can be really bad-tempered sometimes. Cute when he pouts as well.

"C'mon misery, I'll treat you to dinner tonight," I say, gesturing to the door.

"I'm not going anywhere with a defiler such as you," he snaps, but follows me out anyway, closing the door behind him. He does not quicken his pace to catch up with me. I can almost feel the lasers he's trying to shoot from his eyes into the back of my skull. I've always had a keen ability to sense when Heero is staring at me.

"Ok, I'm sorry I threw your book. Next time I'll throw the stapler," I tell him, turning to look at him. That earns me a glare, which loses intensity a few seconds later. I smile, and he returns his own in kind. His eyes are still a mystery, but I can see a little deeper in this moment.

I'll never fathom that mystery.

End of Chapter Two

AN: Ok, this is the second chapter to set the scene for the story. It is a bit slow and not much to do with overall plot, but it'll get better. Next one WILL be a month before being published.


	3. Chapter 3

Authors notes: Third chapter, w00t! Bad news is, I seem to have lost my storyline. I had it written out, but now it's gone… Oh well. I know kinda where I'm going. I hope people didn't mind the POV change. Last thing: I do know the difference between a hacker and a cracker.

Warnings: Swearing.

Watching You

Chapter 3: Cracked

By butterflyshurricane

One of the major down sides to working for the Preventers was that I could be called at any point of the day to come into work. Especially at seven in the morning on my day off. Somewhere in the back of my head I thought about those old Albion spy movies and the glamorous location, the beautiful love interests and the overall coolness. Real life is a major letdown from what the TV tells us.

But here I am, in a meeting with Une, Wufei, Heero and three other senior agents. Including Bartle, who is sneering and making loud comments about nothing I'm listening to. Even someone like him should be a slow starter in a morning.

"Yesterday evening, Miss Relena Darlins personal computer was hacked. Three hours later, the Winner Corporation's mainframe was broken into. Also, Agent Wind's files were downloaded and another's hard drive was hacked, all before three am standard Earth-Sphere time. I want IT to investigate this. All the computers are en route here and should arrive by ten am. Maxwell and Yuy will lead the investigation, working closely with Bartle's team." Une said succinctly, looking around the room as she talked to gauge people's reactions.

I was shocked. Three of the most famous people in the Earth Sphere had been attacked. There had to be a connection. Money had to be the motive, it always was.

"Do you think someone could be trying to gather information for blackmail?" Wufei asked.

"We cannot make any assumptions at this minute; we will have to wait for the computers and reports to arrive." Une answered, glancing at the papers in front of her. Obviously she had thought everything through and anticipated all the questions we cold throw at her.

"My team are quite capable of handling this without the need for two special agents; we may even be slowed down with others on the team." Bartle piped up, looking at me and Heero. Heero's eyes narrowed and his posture changed slightly.

"Heero's a genius when it comes to computers, and you know it. Scared he'll show you up?" I snipe back. I could have just sat there and took it, but I never was one to roll over and take anything. Even interrogators had a hard time shutting me up.

Before he had a chance to answer back, Une spoke up.

"Maxwell and Yuy are to head this investigation. The fourth person is to remain anonymous and only they are allowed to work on it. Now, I'd like a word with Agents Chang, Yuy and Maxwell. The rest of you are dismissed."

Bartle throws his chair back as he stands and storms out, giving me and Heero a dirty look. I see Wufei roll his eyes. The others leave and as soon as the door is closed, Une seems to relax her posture and sighs.

"The reason you two are to lead the investigation is because Hilde Schriebeker is the fourth person to be hacked."

"What?" I exclaim. Hilde? My Hilde, been hacked. "Why didn't she call me?"

"We need to keep her name undisclosed and we couldnot guarentee a safe line direct to you. She rang headquaters looking for you last night, after the other three had reported the hackings. This is serious and changes the situation significantly changed the situation.I want you working your best and finding a resolution quickly. Dismissed."

She wasn't kidding about wanting us starting straight away. All I could think about was Hilde and what she must be going through at the moment. She must be so scared. All her business records and personal files could be gone. I have to phone her later using the secure line.

I think about what Une said. This does change the situation. This is about the war. The stupid war that wont let us go, wont let us forget anything that has happened. It keeps dragging us back. Dragging us down and wont let go.

I come out of my sombre thoughts to realise that Heero was not by my side anymore. Neither was Wufei. I turn to see Heero thirty feet behind he on his phone. He wasn't talking, but hung up and replaced it back in his inside jacket pocket.

"Voicemail?" I ask as he approches me.

"Yeah. Nothing though." He replies.

"Of course not, I'm right here." I reply, smiling at him. His mouth corners upturn in a strained smile. Suddenly my beeper goes off, as does Heero's. I often say to people that I do not need one, as I'm always with Heero. ITD R889. Something is going off in the IT departmant. I look up just in time to see Heero sprint past me. I follow him at a run and call after him.

"A cracker is in the system." He says, his voice carrying back to me.

Someone being in the system would have to have already had to get past several levels of security. This was serious.

We arrived at the IT Department a few minutes after the emergency call. When we arrived, breathing hard from the sprint, we walked in on a scene of chaos and panic. The room was fairly large, with about fifteen to twenty computer terminals around the room. Wires connecting the older hardware to newer items that had had to be placed anywhere there was room littered the floor, taped over with peeling duct tape. The room was hot and stuffy despite the AC, at the front of the room was a big screen filling a large part of the wall that was linked to the Head of Departments computer.

Today, everyone was scrambled around their computers, shouting at each other and typing furiously. On the large screen that displayed the main computer screen, the message 'UNAUTHORISED EXTERNAL ACCESS' flashed at the top of the screen, while underneath in a pop up window, the whereabouts of the hacker was constantly shown, underneath that was what security barriers there were up to and trying to breach. Behind the pop up windows, the screen that the hacker would be able to see was displayed. It was hard to take in all at once, with so much going on.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Bartle shouted from across the room.

"Irrelevant. Sit rep?" Heero shouted, walking over to the other agent.

"What do you think? We have a hacker." The other man shouted back, typing furiously on his terminal.

"Where are they?" I hear Heero asked, looking up at the screen.

"This is my department, I am in charge." Bartle shouted, going red in the face. I really hate the guy, but now was not the time for arguing.

"Not any more. We're taking authority." I say, trying to stay calm despite the situation. "So I suggest you shut up and follow our orders!" At which he promptly closed his mouth and moving out of the way for Heero to sit down.

"The intruder is trying to bypass the security protocols for the personnel files? How far have they got?" I shout into the room shouted.

"They're up to the last code. They've already broken into Mission Data with no effort whatsoever." One agent shouted above the rest. "They're through to personnel and scanning the files!"

On the screen, behind the pop up windows, each personnel file flashed up on screen for less than a second before the next was scanned. For a few minutes, every single persons file flashed up, before returning to the original screen index.

"The files have everyone who works here." I say, leaning over Heero, who was trying to slow them down, but failing. "This is too fast to just be a hacker."

"It looks like a program. The intruder isn't trying to breaking in just to prove they can, they're after something." Heero returned. "Have they downloaded anything?"

"No sir, they just scanned, now they're moving on, scanning other areas, we can't detect where they are until… Sir, they've reappeared!"

I look up at the screen to see where they were. It confirmed they were trying at Section C-12, and attempting to break the thirteen digit password.

"C-12? Aren't they the classified files for-," I started, realising where this person was trying to gain access to, sending a wave of terror through me at the sight.

"C-12 holds all the classified material about the wars." Heero finishes my sentence, his face turning to a scowl.

"Shit, they must be after the Tech specs for you know what." I whispered.

"Possibly." Heero's clip answer reminded me of the old days, or when he's concentrating hard on something. He hates interruptions and unnecessary interruptions.

"But, the Doc's destroyed most of their own data; all they would have is what Oz got from the wreckages after the self destructions. None of the main parts would've survived, right?"

"They had Zero, remember? And they built the Veyete and Mecurius. They could easily build a mecha with the information." Heero returned then addressed the other agent. "I'm going to set up a loop on the Mecha files, so that when they get to it, it will just loop back on it's self infinitely."

I look to the screen, watching as the third safety fell and the second to last password was reached. Within minutes that had been broken as well, and all I could do was watch as someone got their hands on the specifications for the Gundams, or any mobile suit. A cold bolt of fear ran up though my spine. If someone was to get their hands on the files, they could build a mecha; maybe sell it to the highest bidder. They would have to have mecha to counter this threat and send the world back into a chaotic power struggle. Nobody wanted that to happen, but being faced with the prospect, I realised how much my now peaceful life meant to him. Could I really get back into one of those machines?

Something else also occurred to me

"Heero, if they do get in, a lot of sensitive material will be displayed on that screen for all to see." I whisper, looking at the screen Heero was looking at, eyes not flickering to the key board.

"I'm trying to stop that." Heero ground out, typing faster than humanly possible.

"I know that, I'm just making sure-,"

"I do know the complications." With that, I was dismissed as Heero devoted all his attention to his work. As always. It was up to me to oversee the situation while he did all the work

"Everyone, be prepared to evacuate should I give the order. You will vacate the room in ten seconds of the order being given, or you will be held for witnessing classified files without authorisation!" I shout, getting stares and strange looks from everyone.

"You cannot tell everyone to get out, who would be left to stop this intruder?" Bartle shouted.

"There is classified information in these files and there are only two people in this room with any clearance to view these files. Plus, most of this lot are useless; Heero's the only one who can make any difference." Duo shouted back.

"Duo!" Heero shouted. I turn immediately to look at the screen and Heero. "They're in! They're scanning the files." Heero commentated as Duo saw a list of file names scrolling down before stopping at one file and the hacking started again. This time my blood froze and everything stopped.

"Oh god, they're not after the specs for the Gundams, they're after the pilots!" I gasped, visibly shaking as the 'FILE C-12 – PILOTS' flashed on the big screen. Heero looked at me as I looked to him, both of us knowing what the other was thinking and feeling.

"Everybody out, that is an order. Now!" I shouted. Immediately, all the chairs moved and the twenty people in the room were making there way to the door. "Bartle, find the nearest phone and get either Une, or Chang down here."

Within eight seconds the room was empty and the blinds drawn.

"Heero, we need to stop this now or they'll get our files!"

"I know that!" Heero shouted back at me.

"We have the most cutting edge system, with unbeatable pass codes and the best encryption in the Earth Sphere, how are they breaking through this easily?" I said as sat at one of the desks and began typing. "If we knew where the hardware where the files were kept, we could just unplug it."

"It would take hours to gain clearance to find it. We could delete the files." Heero called back to me, still typing furiously, setting up another program, only for it to be brought down.

"That takes five level ten pass codes to do, and we only have four people with that. Getting a fifth would take too long, not at the speed this program is going." I shouted back, my hands were shaking and he typed his own measly firewalls in. I could see his composure cracking. A lead weight settled in my stomach as I watched the screen. A million things ran through my mind in an instant. I felt dizzy and sick and violated.

Wufei burst into the room at that moment, looking between us.

"Is what that fool saying true? Is the hacker after the Gundam pilots?" He asked, walking up to Heero. I got up and approached as well, forgetting about helping as I obviously had not got a clue how to stop this hacking.

"They're up to the last three digits of the last code."

"They're in." Heero said calmly, looking up at the screen. On the screen the file designations came up. It scrolled down the short list. All of a sudden a large pop up window opened stating 'FILE DOWNLOAD IN PROGRESS'

"Fuck!" Heero exclaimed, his typing getting faster. Suddenly, everything stopped. The warning at the top stopped flashing. Heero stopped typing too. The eerie silence closed in. I wanted to ask him why he had stopped, why he was letting it happen, but I realised that he had tried and it had just countered everything he could throw at it.

"It's gone." He said, looking at the small computer screen. "It stopped it's self."

"Did they get all the files?" Wufei asked, wiping his hand over his sweat covered forehead.

"Only one." Heero replied, bringing it up on screen. I almost collapsed at what I read. Wufei let out a gasp next to me as the file labelled 'PILOT 02' came up on screen. On the left hand side was the picture of me from the wanted signs where I was unconscious and being held up by the arms. Next to it was my name and all other information like distinguishing features, date of capture, escape, the details of all the Gundam sightings and attacks, links to reports written by different people, even psychological reports taken not too long after the end of the second war, as well as psyche reports from Preventers and lots of other information.

"They were after Duo."

End of Chapter Three.


	4. Chapter 4

Authors Notes: Okay, another short one. This chapter is dedicated to Recyclable and Fantasy or Reality, for kick starting me into doing something. I got caught up in original writing, so this suffered. The last chapter had so many grammatical errors, I'm so embarrassed. My tenses are all over the place.

Oh well, here is another slice. Enjoy your intrigue!

Warnings: Swearing.

Watching You

Chapter 4: Violation

By butterflyshurricane

Someone was out to get me. Not the Gundam pilots. Oh no, just me. The knowledge of all the people fought in the war was there for them, and they singled out me. God it makes me feel sick. Someone out there has information on me. My life that I had worked so hard to build was coming apart around me.

After the incident, Une had shown up. A quick debriefing later and I was told that I was relieved of duty for the weekend. Needless to say, there was much shouting.,

"I'm fine!"

"Duo-,"

"Don't 'Duo' me!" I shouted back.

"This is serious. Do you realise what this means?" Heero asked. I rolled my eyes.

"That someone now knows the identity of the second Gundam pilot? That this information could be sold the highest bidder? That I am in the deepest shit I've ever been in? Yeah, I have a pretty good idea." I seethed out, turning away from them. I could see the look they were giving each other.

"Then you must understand why we are concerned. I don't expect you to function properly in your job. You should take a long weekend. Come back on Monday and we'll see what happens from there."

She was right. There was no way I would be able to help this investigation in the state I was in. Though it was personal, I needed to distance my self. So I agreed begrudgingly.

They wanted me to have an escort, but I wasn't going to be babied. I'm a Preventer for a reason. Hell I was a terrorist at one point, I can handle myself. But now someone else knows that as well. Heero also offered, but I refused. He persisted and badgered me, so I shouted at him to leave me alone and walked off. I feel really bad now, but an apology could wait till tomorrow.

Quatre called an hour after I walked into my flat. Just to check up. He offered a place to stay, but I declined again. All I want is to be alone, but that was looking to be impossible. I told him I wanted to forget about it so he told me about his week at work and how he was selling a few houses he owned. Not because he needed the money, god no, but because no one ever used them. We didn't chat long, but it was a welcome distraction from sitting around the flat.

My apartment is a modest one bedroom affair with everything I need, and only twenty minutes on the tram to work. I had half a disassembled bike in one corner, the computer in another and a walk-in kitchen with two and a half cupboards. It would accommodate two people at a push, but they would have to be totally at ease and never get mad at the other for leaving dirty laundry around, or able to spend all their time together and not fight.

People like that don't exist though.

The silence started to grate on me after two hours though. The TV got boring after another 45 minutes, so I decided to turn on the computer. After the day I had had, I didn't want to see another computer for a decade, but there was little else to do.

Almost as soon as I had connected to my network, an instant message popped up, saying _'Hi Duo'_. I looked at the sender, The Watcher, and couldn't recognise the e-mail address. I closed the window down and decided to ignore it. I was in no mood to listen to some random try to befriend me. Another time I would have started chatting.

The window popped up again. _'Not talking to me?'_ I sighed and closed it again, clicking harder than I should have. Some people just don't know when to take a clue.

A third time the window popped up. I was about to block the person, when I read what they actually said, and stopped.

'_Am I not good enough for Pilot 02?'_

I paused before typing. Cohearent thought flew out of the window as I tried to think of a response from the millions of questions that I had. 'Who are you?' A few seconds passed before I received an answer.

'_Now I have your attention it seems…'_

No games tonight. This was the person who had violated the files. Had broken into the most heavily guarded database in the Earth-Sphere with little trouble. This person was dangerous. I felt hot and sweaty, almost delirious like from a sudden lack of oxygen in the room. I felt like I about to start hyperventilating if I did not calm down.

'What do you want?' I type. Training came to me, honed from over the years, from bomb threat procedure to hostage taking. Keep them talking, ask them what they want, why. Anything for information. He may be dangerous, but he's still human, and humans make mistakes.

'_I'm not here to talk about me. Tell me a little about yourself.'_ I balked a laugh at the statement. The room seemed to be growing hotter by the minute.

'You already know enough. What do you want from me?' How had my life gone from perfectly fine and slightly boring to being turned inside out in the space of a day? This was not how I imagined an exciting life to be.

'_Now, let's not get into that. I just wanted to get to know you better. Your psychological reports were very revealing. I feel like we've bonded.'_

'What do you want?'

'_You. I want you all for myself. Just remember, I'm always watching.' _And with that they signed off. I tried to search for the name or something, but it wasn't there. Nothing, it had vanished. I didn't realise that my hands were shaking until I couldn't hit the keys properly. I gave up and stumbled over to the phone and called Preventer HQ.

Maybe I did need someone after all.

Within half an hour, I heard the door open and slam against the wall and Heero yelling my name. He yelled again and I mustered a weary reply from my position in the empty bath tub. I can't remember getting into the bath tub, or even what I did after putting the phone down after Heero had ordered me to stay exactly where I am and that he was on his way. Here I was, sat in the small tub. I didn't even have any water. I looked only partially crazy.

He strode into the room and stopped to look at me. I glanced up at his face that was racked with confusion. I shrugged and turned to the side, resting my legs on the edge of the tub. Strike the earlier statement, I looked completely crazy.

"Duo," he said, kneeling down next to me, "are you ok?" I looked at him, but couldn't muster a smile for anything. The façade had slipped over the years. My new life had taught me that it was ok to be sad, be angry, to let everyone know when something was bothering me. That I could finally show my real feelings and not be punished. We all dealt with in our own way and all of us are slowly learning.

"No." I answer truthfully. He took my hand in his own and brushed a stray hair away from my cheek with the other. This time I do smile. I wish everyone could see this side of Heero. It makes his a completely rounded person, and not just the stereotype they see. His hands are rough and solid. Dirt from engines and piloting that would never come out showed age on his hands.

He rests his chin on his arm and watches me. There's no hurry there. Just Me, Heero and my bathroom. Me smiles at me, trying to coax me into returning it.

"Turn that frown upside-down." Heero says. I once sang that at him, long ago to cheer him up. I smile again. Feelings stirring in me again. He will always be my best friend, and that love will never leave. The other feeling threatens this bond though. Threatens to turn something so precious into something that could tear us apart. It scared me as well as woo me.

I do love him, I just don't know in which way.

He moves his hand away from my cheek and I mourn the loss immediately. Maybe I do know which way; maybe I just don't want to admit it.

"What happened?" He asks eventually. I retell it as best I could. It's all mixed up and stutter through most of it, but the gist gets through my hysterical ramblings. He listened, patiently, attentively. I almost forget myself when I look in his eyes and see the determination behind them.

He sits there, still holding my hand, listening carefully and nodding. Not once did he interrupt the tangents that I stream off, or the repeated parts.

"I'll have to have a look at the computer." He says, not letting go of my hand. "Come on, you'll start to wrinkle." I laugh as I step out of the tub. "Have you even eaten?"

His fussing always made me laugh. Heero Yuy making sure someone else was fed properly. Maybe I still think of him in stereotypes as well. Even though he must have been at work all day and evening, his uniform still looked immaculate, even without the tie.

"Not hungry." I say as he helps me up and leads my out of my tiny bathroom. I make my way over to the sofa and flop down into the deep green folds. Heero gives me one last stoke of the thimb on the back of my hand before he turns to the computer and begins working on it. I lay back, listening to the quiet typing. Like the good old days. The days I never wanted to return to.

Everything and nothing flew through my mind at the same time. Hundreds of questions, no answers. I had not felt so lost for such a long time. I hated vulnerability and dependence. To me, they were weaknesses I had outgrown long ago.

Exhaustion kicked in and my whole body began to ache. I leaned back and closed my eyes, willing my lead coated muscles to relax. I hadn't realised that I had dropped off until Heero sat next to me, waking me up. I look over to the clock and realise that I've been asleep for over an hour. I also had a blanket covering me. I look to him and he has that look he gets sometimes. A pale comparison to the one he used to have after a failure.

The foreboding rose up again and the lead weight that was my stomach sank down.

"I can't find anything to suggest where the message came from or who it was."

"What does that mean?" I ask, knowing my voice was shaded with anxiety.

"I… there's nothing there that I can find tonight." He replies. One thing I'll give Heero, he'll never sugar coat any bitter medicine. Straight, almost brutal honesty is what he gives. Sometimes that is for the best, but not tonight.

"What do you mean, there's nothing there?" I ask. He looks back to the computer in the corner then back to me.

"Duo-,"

"I didn't imagine it." I say defensively, sitting up. The blanket pooled in my lap.

"I did not say that. We'll have to take the computer in to look at it properly. There is little I can do from here." Heero says, sitting up and gesturing to the computer with a nod of his head.

I slump as I process the information. Of course he wouldn't think I made it up. And he did spent a lot of time on the computer. If it was the same person who had gotten into the C-12 files, of course they were going to cover themselves pretty good.

Heero wouldn't put up with anything if he didn't think it was founded, me included.

"Sorry." I say, keeping my eyes down.

"Don't-," He starts, but I cut him off again.

"I am. For earlier as well. I know you just wanted to help, I shouldn't have shouted at you. God I'm such and idiot. Look at me, cracking up after a threat. Hell, even OZ didn't faze me." I say, looking everywhere but at him, until he says my name. My focus rested fully on him.

"It's okay." He says simply, putting an end to the conversation. "You should go to bed. You need to rest and the sofa isn't the place to get it." He makes to get up, but my hand darts out and grabs his wrist before I even knew what I was doing. The look he points at me is full of questions.

"Will you stay tonight?" I ask simply. His features relax and he sits back down, smiling.

"Sure." I smile and move to get up. We silently tidy up, our action slow and bogged down with fatigue.

"Are the spare blankets still in the cupboard?" He asked at he moves towards the bedroom.

"Will you sleep with me tonight?" I blurt out. The statement stops him in his track and both of us are frozen to the spot. That had come out all wrong. I defiantly wasn't on top form at all. He slowly turns to look at me, his face guarded and all emotions in check. I blink rapidly and wish that for once my brain had a superego that worked.

"Not as in… y'know," I stumble to say, "I mean… You said once that the sofa isn't the best place for sleeping. And it's not like we haven't shared a bed right? Remember the one man cot?"

He smiles as I watch the memory of that night float past his gorgeous eyes. I stop short of telling that I don't want to be alone. I don't want to say it out loud, cause that would mean admitting that I was scared and denial was crying out that I wasn't. It didn't matter though; Heero seemed to pick up on the unspoken words and held out a hand. I reach out to take it, and he and his callous-ridden hands lead the way.

My bedroom was dark and the queen size bed looked awfully small suddenly. We both strip to our boxers and Heero pulled on the tee I found in the bottom of the drawer. I had honestly thought to myself that the next time Heero and I would share the same bed; I had pictured a very different scene. With a lot more nakedness and a hell of a better mood. I sigh quietly at the thought. Two gay best friends sharing a bed. It was like a sitcom, only without the bad jokes or happy ending.

I thanked the heavens that I had changed the bedding earlier in a fit of restlessness as I slid between the sheets of cotton. Heero followed suite and rested next to me. I had never felt more awkward in my life as I lay there. The rooms silence was broken by our breathing. I chuckled silently to myself as I imagined what we must look like. I hear him blow out a sigh and shift.

He is my best friend above everything. Nothing is going to happen tonight. I roll towards him and throw an arm over his chest. He instinctively wraps an arm around me. I'm amazed at how our bodies fit together and how _right_ it feels for him to be next to me. His warmth is welcoming and familiar. His hand stroking my hair, my hand on his rising chest.

"Good night Heero." I whisper against his chest. I feel him plant a kiss on the top of my head and whisper a reply. Together we lay there, not talking, no pretending to sleep. Just me and Heero. The rest of the world melts away and all that is left is the security of being with him.

God's in his heaven, all's right in the world.

End of part four.


End file.
